With the seconds ticking down and her team locked in a tie, Reading High's Jailyn Stern had an open look.

She put up the 10-footer from the left and watched it drop with about three seconds remaining. Gov. Mifflin took a timeout, followed by a 3-point shot as time expired, but Stern's basket ended up being the winner on a night that featured big-time performances all over the court.Click here for more photos

"I was just glad I could pull through for my team," Stern said, smiling. "I wasn't hitting much earlier, but I hit that jump shot."

"It was a total team effort," Reading High coach Richie Williams said. "I told them that's what it's going to take to win this game. We had to do everything as a team."

Tuesday night with the Berks Girls Basketball League Division I lead on the line, they did.

Isis Thorpe scored 19 points to lead four Reading High players in double digits, and the Red Knights fought back from a nine-point third-quarter deficit to defeat Gov. Mifflin 68-66 at the Geigle.

Yaritza Ortiz scored 14, Stern had 12, and Tyeca Reviere had 10 for the Knights (7-1, 16-1), whose only loss came Jan. 3 at Gov. Mifflin.

"It seems like every time we play them, they give us a hard time," Williams said. "It's been the Gingrich-Espinosa show against us. They're great players."

When Mifflin beat Reading in January, the Mustangs dominated the first and third quarters.

Neither side could build much of a lead early in this one. Reading led 18-15 at the end of the first quarter. Mifflin's Lauren Pietrowski hit two free throws near the end of the second to give the Mustangs a 31-30 halftime edge.

Midway through the third, Mifflin was on the verge of pulling away. Thorpe picked up her fourth foul with 3:19 left, and Espinosa knocked down two free throws to give the Mustangs a 46-37 lead.

"When I called timeout, I let them know we had a quarter and a half to play," Williams said. "With our speed and defense, we can score when we want to score.

"I told them before the game, if we lose this game it's going to be rough for us (to make the Berks County playoffs)."

Powerful motivation.

Ortiz hit a 3-pointer with a minute left in the third to pull Reading within 48-46. Seconds later, she converted a turnover into a layup to tie it.

Gingrich hit a 3-pointer with four minutes left to give the Mustangs a 60-56 lead. But Thorpe hit two 3s in the final two minutes, including one that gave the Knights a 66-64 lead with 1:06 left. Espinosa tied it.

Reading took a timeout with 11 seconds remaining. And Stern took advantage of the open look.

"Tonight everyone played their part," Stern said. "It was a just a team effort. Everyone passed the ball well, everyone made shots."